Haepari Naengchae (Chilled Jellyfish Salad) with Mustard
A refreshing dish of blanched jellyfish, vegetables, and egg garnish tossed in a pungent garlic mustard dressing.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This appetizing dish for guests combines a pungent mustard sauce with chewy jellyfish. Jellyfish must be briefly blanched in boiling water and then marinated in a sweet and sour base seasoning to bring out its tender texture. It is best enjoyed cold, paired with vegetables and the sharp, spicy sauce.
- Servings
- 4–5 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Jellyfish150 g (after desalted)
- Cucumber1
- Crab stick (crami)3
- Egg2 (egg garnish)
Jellyfish Marinade
- Water1/2 cup
- Vinegar3 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Salt1 tsp
Seasoning
- Garlic3 cloves (3 cloves)
- Vinegar2 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Prepared yellow mustard1 tbsp
- Salt1/2 tsp
- Toasted sesame oil1/2 tbsp
- Toasted sesame seeds1 tbsp
- The weight of the jellyfish is based on the rinsed jellyfish with the salt removed, not the salted weight in the package.
- In addition to cucumber, crab sticks, and egg garnish, you can also use ingredients such as shrimp, bell pepper, or Korean pear.
Steps
1. In the case of salted jellyfish, you probably know that there is much more salt than actual jellyfish.
More than 2/3 of it is salt, and the salt ratio seems to differ across every product you buy.
So for this chilled jellyfish salad, I am giving the ingredient and sauce amounts based on the pure weight of the jellyfish with the salt removed, not the weight of the salted jellyfish package.
Please keep this point well in mind as you follow the recipe.
As long as you gauge the pure weight of the jellyfish accurately and make the sauce I suggested, I guarantee you will make a delicious chilled salad sauce with a zero percent chance of failure.
This tip is as important as the number of stars: ★★★★★.
2. Rinse in water several times to remove the salt.
3. The salted jellyfish that weighed 750 g weighs 150 g after removing the salt and roughly draining the moisture.
As mentioned above, make the sauce based on this state (150 g jellyfish weight).
4. First, as soon as you add the jellyfish to rolling boiling water...
5. Give it a quick stir...
6. Quickly rinse it in cold water.
Drain in a colander and cut into bite-sized lengths.
7. Add all the marinade ingredients (1/2 cup water, 3 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt), mix well, and place in the refrigerator.
Through this process, the jellyfish that shrank and shriveled during blanching expands in volume, turns tender in texture, and absorbs the tasty marinade.
8. For the vegetables and toppings to go into the chilled jellyfish salad, peel the cucumber into a long strip and julienne finely.
Shred the imitation crab sticks to match the length and thickness of the cucumber.
Separate the eggs into yolk and white, fry them into thin egg garnishes, and julienne them.
Aside from these, you can also use ingredients like shrimp, bell pepper, or pear.
10
9. Now we will make the most important chilled salad sauce...
Rather than using minced garlic,
though it takes a bit of effort, finely chopping it with a knife makes the sauce taste much better.
10. Add all the sauce ingredients including the finely chopped garlic and mix...
Keep both the ingredients and the sauce chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Doesn't the finished haepari naengchae look wonderfully refreshing just looking at it?
Ppunwife's tips
- Finely chopping garlic with a knife instead of using pre-minced garlic makes the sauce taste much better.
- Rather than tossing all the ingredients with the sauce all at once, serve portions of the ingredients and lightly toss them with sauce as you eat to enjoy it fresh and crisp throughout the meal.
FAQ
Why do you soak the jellyfish in a marinade after blanching?
Soaking the jellyfish in the sweet and sour liquid after blanching restores its volume, tenderizes the texture, and infuses it with flavor.
How should the garlic for the sauce be prepped?
Finely chopping the garlic by hand with a knife rather than using pre-minced garlic brings out a much better flavor in the sauce.
What ingredients can I add besides cucumber and crab stick?
Depending on your preference, julienned shrimp, bell pepper, or Korean pear also pair wonderfully.
Can I toss all the ingredients with the sauce in advance?
Rather than mixing everything at once, lightly tossing small portions right before eating keeps the texture crisp and fresh until the end.
